


All the King's Horses and All the King's Men

by AppalachianApologies



Series: Appalachian's 2020 Whumptober [22]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Aaron Hotchner Whump, Drugging, Drugs, Gen, Hehehe, Hurt Aaron Hotchner, Hurt Spencer Reid, Non-Consensual Drug Use, References to Drugs, Spencer Reid Whump, Tasers, Whump, Whumptober, as always we got a creepy unsub, featuring a taser, incredibly I was able to whump hotch and still focus on spencer that's how much of a simp i am, plus some extra panicking, that's right i'm hurting hotch now surprise feckers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:05:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27150139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AppalachianApologies/pseuds/AppalachianApologies
Summary: Spencer doesn't know if he should be worried or relieved at the fact that he wasn't kidnapped alone this time.Day 22: Drugged
Series: Appalachian's 2020 Whumptober [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948174
Comments: 43
Kudos: 188
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	All the King's Horses and All the King's Men

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Hi! I hope you're all doing well! Before you read, I just want to say: Whatever you're expecting, it's not that :)
> 
> Enjoy! :D
> 
> (and please don't throw rotten tomatoes at me after you read this)

Aaron Hotchner jerks awake on a mattress that he doesn’t recognize.

It takes a fraction of a second for him to deduce that it’s not a hospital mattress, it’s not a hotel mattress, and it isn’t Beth’s either. It’s old and thin, and Hotch doesn’t want to think about the amount of diseases and viruses living on it.

Surprisingly, he’s not tied down, and Hotch quickly rolls off of it, wincing when his head throbs at the movement. Based on the bump on the back, Hotch is pretty sure he was blitzed. But it’s only when he looks to the side that he begins to worry.

Because laid down on another dirty mattress is the unconscious form of his youngest agent.

Hotch curses before setting a hand on Spencer’s shoulder, “Reid? Reid, I need you to wake up,”

Spencer’s brow knits together a few seconds before his eyes blink open, looking as confused as Hotch feels. 

“Are you with me?”

Swallowing the sleep away, Spencer nods, “Yeah. What happened?”

Frowning, Hotch cryptically answers, “Blitz attack, I think. Something to do with the unsub,”

“Have I been kidnapped again?” Spencer questions, throwing his legs off the bed, before standing up to look at the cinderblock wall. “Where are we?”

“Probably, and I’m not sure,” Hotch answers, respectively. “You were working on the geographical profile last, what do you remember?”

Biting his lip, Spencer replies, “It’s somewhere on the West side, but that’s all I had it narrowed down to. Probably somewhere along a work route.”

Hotch opens his mouth to answer, before the door is swung open.

“Hello!” A male voice greets them, far too cheery for the situation. “Before I step in, I just want to let you guys know that I’m holding a taser which I’ve engineered to go from ‘painful’ to ‘seizure worthy,’ so please don’t try and attack me,” A small man enters the room (cell?), holding a taser as promised. “Hello,” He greets again with a smile. “Agent Hotchner, Agent Reid.”

Both Hotch and Spencer share a glance at each other before turning back to their unsub.

Making an over exaggerated wince, the unsub complains, “Not too talkative once I’m in the room, huh?” He tsks a few times before continuing, “Oh well. You don’t really need to talk for the fun to begin.”

*

_ “Pretty Boy, if you don’t stop clicking that pen I am going to be the next unsub,” Morgan mutters, eliciting a few stares from the local officers. _

_ Pulled out of his thoughts, Spencer frowns, not even knowing when he picked up the pen. “Sorry. I’m just, confused?” _

_ “About what?” _

_ Spinning around on his chair, Spencer tries to explain, “It can’t be Stockholm. Each of the victims were barely kept for a day before killing their families. It’s psychologically impossible to develop Stockholm syndrome that quickly.” _

_ Morgan sighs in agreement. “Yeah. Could’ve been from threats?” _

_ He gets a shaking head in response. “All of the surviving victims don’t know why they hurt their families, it doesn’t make sense.” _

_ With a scoff, Morgan questions, “So what are you suggesting? That the conspiracy theorists are right? Mind control?” _

_ Underneath his breath, Spencer repeats, “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth,” _

*

“So, Spencer - can I call you that?” When he doesn’t reply, the unsub just continues, “Yeah, I’m gonna call you that. Spencer, I can’t help but notice how much the rest of your team cares about you, is that right?”

Hotch interrupts before the man can get any further. “What’s the point of all this?”

The unsub holds out a single finger, as if silencing a child while on the phone. “Shh. I’m getting to that. Aaron.” He makes a face. “You know, I’ve never liked the name ‘Aaron.’ It just doesn’t sit right on my tongue, you know what I mean?” He then chuckles at himself. “Sorry, sorry, I do tend to go off on tangents. But, I digress. So Spencer, your team cares about you, yeah?”

Not rising to the obvious bait, Spencer answers, “We all care about each other.”

“No, no,” The unsub waves him off, “I get that. I’m talking about you in particular though. You’re like the little brother, are you not?”

“I have three PhDs,” Spencer mutters.

“I’m not arguing with you on that. All I’m trying to confirm, is that the team cares about you. Okay? Yeah? So we’re in agreement? The team cares about you?” He raises the taser menacingly, and Hotch doesn’t want to take a chance, he quickly answers.

“Yes,” He juts in, “We all care about Doctor Reid, what’re you going for?”

Chuckling, the unsub echos, “Doctor Reid. Oh, what a smart little man,” Pursing his lips he mutters, “So smart… Anyway! I have exciting news for both of you! You’re going to be set free in about twenty four hours! Isn’t that so much fun?”

Neither Spencer nor Hotch seem to share the same sentiment. “What’s the catch?” The younger profiler questions.

“No catch!” The man answers, before laughing to himself. “Okay, well, I guess that’s a lie. The catch, is that Spencer comes with me for the twenty four hours-”

Before he’s even done finishing his sentence, Hotch interrupts. “Take me. Not him.”

Moving the taser to face Hotch’s chest, the unsub puts one finger on his lips. “Shush! Don’t interrupt me, Aaron.” Huffing, he continues, “As I was saying, Spencer here gets to stay with me for the twenty four hours, and then I call the team, and you all leave, happily ever after!”

“Whatever you’re going to do to him, do it to me instead,” Hotch insists, ignoring Spencer’s glare.

“No can do, Mr. G-Man,” And then, holding out his arm as if asking for a dance, he adds, “Come along, Spencer! We have a few things to get through,”

Spencer makes eye contact with his Unit Chief, “Hotch, I-”

“Shush!”

As soon as Spencer takes a step forward, Hotch jumps into action, ready to kill the unsub with his bare fists. Unfortunately, the unsub was expecting it, and instantly presses the trigger of the taser.

Spencer watches in horror as Hotch falls to the floor, muscles twitching. He wonders if this is what it was like when he was in the cabin. “Hotch? Hotch!”

The unsub tugs on Spencer’s arm, faux soothing him with, “Oh, don’t worry little Spencer, Aaron will be just fine,” He giggles to himself. “That is, after he wakes up. Now c’mon! If you don’t come with me, I’ll tase him again.” The unsub’s smile then grows, exposing white teeth before he adds, “And then maybe he won’t wake up!”

With one last glance to his supervisor, Spencer walks out of the room with a violent unsub.

*

_ Spencer looks up as Emily and Rossi walk in, both looking more confused than when they’d left. _

_ “What’d you learn about Mary?” Spencer asks, brain ready to absorb information. _

_ “Bull. That’s what we learned,” Emily reports with a sigh, sinking into a chair. “She apparently has vague memories of killing her children, but she doesn’t remember why, or even how she got a gun.” _

_ Spencer frowns. “Even if she has parts of her memory we can do a cognitive,” _

_ This time it’s Rossi’s turn to sigh. “We were going to,” _

_ “What happened?” _

_ “But then she tried to slit her wrists,” Rossi finishes, frowning at his empty coffee cup. _

_ Making a face, Spencer muses, “So she obviously feels remorse,” _

_ “It’s more than just that,” Emily speaks up. “It’s not the type of remorse that an unsub would have. It’s completely genuine. Mary’s distraught, and it’s obvious she’s not faking it.” _

_ Spencer slowly nods, trying to make sense of the information in front of him.  _

_ A few seconds go by before Emily continues, “Listen, I hate to say it,” _

_ Rossi rolls his eyes, “Please don’t say it, not this again,” _

_ “But it sure sounds like mind control,” She finishes, ignoring Rossi’s over dramatic groan. _

_ “There has to be a scientific explanation for this,” Spencer mutters, mostly to himself. _

_ With a shrug, Emily replies, “And I’m sure there is one. But right now? Two words: mind. Control.” _

*

When Hotch wakes, he feels much worse than before.

His mouth is dry and his limbs still feel asleep. When he pulls himself off the floor pin pricks of pain light up his legs, but they go away within seconds.

The first thing Hotch tries is the door, and he’s not surprised that it’s secured locked. There’s no windows, and from what he can tell, no weak parts of the wall either.

And so the BAU’s Unit Chief is stuck in a cell, twiddling his thumb while his youngest agent could be getting tortured.

All in all, Spencer thinks that this isn’t too bad. Rather than being cuffed to a chair like the last time he was kidnapped, the unsub lets him sit freely on a couch. It’s covered in a design from the 70s, slightly faded, gaudy flowers blooming across the sofa. Spencer waits with his hands on his knees, brain moving a mile a minute. 

The unsub is manically pacing back and forth, checking his watch nearly every three seconds, obviously waiting for something.

Whatever it is, Spencer doesn’t know. But he’s still holding the taser, and Spencer hopes that in a cruel twist of fate his finger will slip and he’ll taze himself. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen.

Instead, an electronic beeping comes from the unsub’s watch, and he quickly turns towards Spencer.

“Lovely. Lovely! Are you ready to get started?”

Swallowing, Spencer pleads, “We can help you, okay? You just need to tell me what you want,”

“You’re what I want!” Pulling a packet of over the counter pills out of his pocket, he pops three out and holds them out for Spencer. “Okay! Bottoms up.”

Spencer tries to push down the panic and memories of Tobias, but he doesn’t quite succeed. He is, however, able to tell the unsub, “No,” without his voice wavering.

Frowning, the unsub points out, “Okay. So. Here’s the thing. You don’t have a choice. Because if you don’t, I’ll shoot Mr. Aaron, okay? Or maybe I’ll tase him, and then shoot him. Or maybe the other way around, you know?” Holding out his hand further, the unsub finishes, “So you’re going to take these, understand?”

Spencer shivers when they’re dropped into his palm. He doesn’t want to get Hotch hurt, but the fear of drugs is almost overpowering. With a worried glance that he can’t quite hide, Spencer questions, “Can I ask what they are?”

“Oh sure you can!”

“What are they?”

“Scopolamine hydrobromide,” The unsub answers with a cheery smile.

With a juxtaposed frown, Spencer murmurs, “Anti-nausea meds? Why?”

Ignoring his question, the unsub tries to coax, “Well, go on now! Bottom’s up! I have a glass of water to help wash it down!” When Spencer doesn’t move his hand, the unsub holds up his taser. “If you won’t, I’ll have to pay Mr. Aaron a visit.”

“You’re bluffing.” Spencer states with a cold face.

Smiling cheek to cheek, the unsub replies, “Okay! Let’s find out!”

Spencer won’t ever forget Hotch’s screams, and he knows he’s going to have nightmares about the instant when his screams suddenly stop. The younger profiler is pale in the face by the time the unsub comes back.

“You ready to take them, now?” He asks, still smiling.

The pills are tasteless when he swallows them.

*

_ All six profilers sit around the conference table, attempting to brainstorm, with varying levels of success. _

_ After a beat of silence, Hotch claims, “Even if our unsub isn’t doing the killings themselves, we still need to be profiling them as a family annihilator,” _

_ Nodding, Spencer agrees, “So, they probably had a terrible upbringing,” _

_ “Abusive parents?” JJ questions, “Or maybe they were in the system.” _

_ Hotch nods. “We’ll have Garcia check,” _

_ “Maybe they’re not doing the killings themselves because they can’t,” Emily acknowledges with a frown. _

_ “What do you mean?” _

_ “If it’s a female, she wouldn’t be able to over power an entire family.” _

_ “Or even a weak male,” Spencer points out. “There’s still too many unknowns to build a good enough profile.” _

_ Hotch opens his mouth to respond, but pulls out his phone instead. _

_ Seeing his frown, Rossi questions, “Aaron?” _

_ “Coroner’s office has something for us,” Hotch answers. “Reid, come with me, we’re going to go back.” _

_ Spencer gives one of his familiar waves before they’re off. _

*

When the unsub comes back with the pills, Spencer doesn’t dare to question him again. With a deep breath, he takes four more.

*

Hotch wakes, feeling like absolute shit.

His entire body feels so aggressively  _ wrong _ Hotch isn’t even sure what he should be cataloging first. Luckily, he doesn’t have to make that decision, when Rossi comes barging in the door, pistol raised.

“Aaron!” Rossi immediately holsters his weapon, helping the younger man stand from the floor. “Where are you hurt?”

Groaning, Hotch replies, “Just taser burns,”

“Dammit,” Rossi mutters. “Where’s the kid?”

That catches Hotch’s attention. “You haven’t found him?”

*

Spencer dutifully swallows three more pills. 

“Are you ready, Spencer?”

Slowly, Spencer nods. “I’m ready.”

“Just like we planned?”

“Just like we planned.”

*

JJ’s the first one to notice him. “Spence!”

Morgan sigh of relief is quick to follow, shoulders relaxing. “Jeez, you scared us, kid.”

Behind Spencer, the unsub emerges like he’s part of a bad movie. Then, with glistening eyes, he whispers in Spencer’s ear. “Raise your gun, Spencer.”

He complies.

“Reid, what?” Morgan’s the first one to react. “Put the gun down. It’s just us.”

The unsub smiles, the white of his teeth reflecting in the light. “Do you see Aaron, Spencer?”

Spencer blinks once. “Yes.”

“Point your gun at him,” The unsub instructs, loud enough for the rest of the BAU to hear.

Morgan brings his own gun up once again. “Reid, put the gun down. It’s me, Morgan. Okay? You need to put the gun down.”

“Don’t put it down,” The unsub smiles. “Shoot Aaron, Spencer, shoot him!”

Spencer frowns. He’s pretty sure he doesn’t want to, but at the same time he isn’t sure. Maybe he does want to? But he definitely doesn’t want to kill him.

“Shoot him!” The unsub hisses.

Spencer moves his gun slightly to the right, and fires.

Hotch goes down, clutching the side of his arm as the rest of the BAU watches in horror. Rossi moves quickly, and falls down to his knees to help Hotch.

Morgan and Emily are yelling at the unsub, and Spencer’s still frowning.

He just shot his boss. Huh.

“Step away from Agent Reid!” Morgan shouts, holding his weapon straight out in front of him.

The unsub then pulls out his own revolver, pressing it against Spencer’s head, a sick reminder of Raphael. “I don’t think I will.” And then, turning to press his head into Spencer’s, he whispers, “How many bullets are left, Spencer?”

“One.”

“How many bullets do you need to kill yourself?”

“One.”

JJ cocks her own weapon. “No!”

With a sick smile, the unsub instructs, “Hold the weapon up to your head, okay?”

Lethargically nodding, Spencer complies.

“Spence, put the gun down!” JJ calls, feeling her breath catch in her throat. “Spence!”

“You know what to do, Spencer,” The unsub sing-songs, nearly breathing down his neck. “Go on now. Shoot yourself. Give your little family the pain they deserve.”

“Okay.” Spencer answers, and a shot rings out.

But instead of Spencer, the unsub falls to the ground, a sick halo of blood already pooling around his head, the only evidence being Morgan’s smoking gun.

Spencer sees the unsub fall in the corner of his eye, but otherwise doesn’t react.

“Reid?” Morgan calls, taking slow steps forward. “Can you hear me?”

“Yes.”

“I need you to give me the gun, okay?” He asks, holding out his palm, forcing himself to stay calm.

Spencer frowns. “But,” His frown deepens, “He told me to-”

“I’m telling you right now to give me the gun,” Morgan interrupts. “Spencer Reid, give me the gun.”

After two slow blinks, Spencer hands him the gun, and Morgan nearly collapses from relief. “We need medics in here, asap!” He calls out as JJ holsters her pistol and approaches Spencer.

“Spence? Can you hear me?”

With a nod, Spencer replies, “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”

*

A nurse shakes her head, tired from the rest of her shift. “I’m sorry sir,” She starts, southern accent strong, “But he won’t see any visitors,”

“I don’t care.” Rossi says, giving her the blankest possible face he can create. “I’m FBI, and he’s one of my agents,”

Snapping, the nurse counters, “And he’s my patient. He’s not taking visitors.”

Rossi’s about to start a fight in the middle of the hospital corridor, until he hears Hotch’s, “Rossi, lay off her,”

The Italian spins around, frowning at him. “Aaron, what the hell? You should be in bed!”

Rolling his eyes, Hotch mutters, “I’m fine,” As if to prove his point better, he tugs on the sling like he wants to tear it off. “How’s Reid?”

Giving a side eye to the nurse, Rossi growls, “They won’t tell me anything.”

Hotch walks up, surprisingly steadily. Turning to face the nurse he states, “I’m Doctor Reid’s medical proxy. What’s he being treated for?”

The nurse gives him a look. “You’re his proxy?”

“SSA Aaron Hotchner,” Hotch greets. “What’s he being treated for?”

Glaring at Rossi, the nurse reports, “I’ll page his doctor, but he can’t hear about it until my patient gives permission.”

Rossi tosses his hands up in mock surrender. “I’ll go grab some coffee,” He mutters, a smile so fake it hurts.

In a scary turn of events, Spencer’s chart was nearly blank.

“I don’t understand,” Hotch mutters, balancing the clipboard with his good and hip. “That’s all you’re treating him for?”

Spencer’s doctor nods. “He’s completely healthy. The only drug in his system was scopolamine hydrobromide, and based on his latest blood tests, he shouldn’t have much left. It has a very short half life.”

Hotch frowns at the end, before his face falls. “Son of a bitch,” He mutters, eliciting a look from the doctor. “I’m sorry?”

“None of the coroner’s reports had any drugs in their system because of the short half life. Of course,”

The doctor sends him another look, but doesn’t say anything about it. “You should probably head back to your room, Agent Hotchner, or the nurses will be out to get me. Until you’re released, I can’t recommend roaming the halls.”

“Can I see Reid?”

Shaking his head, the doctor replies, “I’m sorry, but he isn’t taking any visitors.”

Hotch wants to argue, but the nurse from before suddenly comes up to them. Directed at the doctor, she reports, “He’s gone,”

“What do you mean, ‘gone’?” Hotch questions, anger laced in his voice.

“I mean,” The nurse starts up again, “That Spencer Reid left a note and left.” She holds out a notepad, and Hotch curses when he recognizes Spencer’s chicken scratch handwriting.

Hotch curses, digging his phone out of pocket. “Dave? We need an APB out on the kid.”

**Author's Note:**

> *ahem* THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL I PROMISE YOU I JUST NEED TO FINISH WHUMPTOBER BUT I PROMISE THERE WILL BE A RESOLUTION
> 
> Basically scopolamine hydrobromide is an anti-nausea drug that in large doses knocks you out and in mediumish large doses makes you completely susceptible to literally anything. It's similar to date rape drugs in that the victim doesn't really have control over themselves, but different in the fact that they're not loopy. It's pretty fucked up.
> 
> As always I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, or even what's on your mind! Come talk with me on [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/appalachianapologies) (AppalachianApologies) if you'd like! I'm always so down to meet new people :D
> 
> I love you all very much, and I hope you all are doing okay. If you find yourself in a bad or scary situation, here are some hotlines (Please keep in mind that the written out numbers are US hotlines)
> 
> National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255  
> National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673  
> National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
> 
> If you don't live in America and need someone to talk to, here's a list of [international hotlines.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines)  
> You are not alone, and I love you all <3
> 
> Much love to all of you, and take care until tomorrow!! <3
> 
> (and don't use this information to drug your friends)


End file.
